To Love a Madman
by crazygurl12
Summary: It was never meant to be. He was crazy, she was shy. He was Akatsuki... She was tasked to kill him. DeiHina short story.
1. Chapter 1

_I don't know what's happened to me but I drank too much coffee (the reason that I can't sleep) and some weird idea about Deidara and Hinata inside my head (Maybe because I just finished reading a DeiHina fic that touched me to the bones…) I just have to get this idea out or else…it's going to run around my head all day._

 _I have planned this to be a three chapter fic…a short story just to get the idea out._

 _Nothing serious._

 _ **Paragraphs in italics with (f) marks are flashbacks***_

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto_**

-o-o-o-

 **Chapter One**

Deidara laughed despite of the hellish pain that he was feeling. The sound of his mad laughter echoed around the cave, bouncing on the cold stone walls and vibrating before slowly dying into silence. His leg was numb… maybe broken. He cannot see clearly in the darkness and he was almost sure that if he can, he would see his body's poor state and just laugh harder.

Who knows, maybe his body was torn in half and he was already dead.

Or maybe he was hallucinating.

Or maybe he was just fucking crazy… and the last idea actually makes sense.

Somewhere within the cave, someone lit a torch, illuminating warm orange light. It was dim, but it was enough to make him see the face of whoever it was that dragged him inside the cover of the cave after he blowed himself with his own clay bombs. What he did was supposed to be a masterpiece… a beautiful art… but someone interfered and knocked him away from his explosion.

Now he was still alive in this ugly world.

And now, what was supposed to be his beautiful finale in this ugly world was ruined.

Deidara squinted his functioning eye. His other one was useless, rendered blind by a fight he cannot even remember. He had fought too many battles and had been wounded many times in return… whether it was in his life as a decent Shinobi or a crazy Akatsuki.

"I'll be damned yeah." He choked, blood dripping from his sneering lips. Now that he spoke out loud, he wondered if he lost a few good teeth. Or maybe just broke his jaw. "Fuck me up if it isn't you…" He laughed again, recognizing who it was. At first, he wondered if his eye was playing tricks on him. "Hinata Hyuga."

Hyuga Hinata let her eyes roam over the Akatsuki's tattered body. His arm was almost torn at the joint while his right leg was obviously broken. She could see a few bones sticking out. The smell of burned skin was nauseating but she had enough time volunteering at Konoha's hospital that she can disregard her senses upon such an unruly sight. Without a word, she removed her white standard traveling cloak and laid it on the stone cold floor next to her. Her forehead protector glinted around her neck.

"Don't tell me you're the one who pulled me out of that explosion yeah?" Deidara asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hinata grabbed her pack, which was near Deidara's bloody feet. She pulled out a few disinfecting ointments, bandages and salves. She also brought out her needle and thread. Carefully, she placed them next to the blonde.

"What, cat got your tongue yeah?"

Hinata sighed. For a wounded, almost dying man, Deidara was still a loudmouth. In her twenty years of life, she never knew a person as weird as this one. "P-please hold yourself still. I am going to sew those deep wounds to prevent the bleeding."

Deidara raised an eyebrow again. He watched in amusement as the Hidden Leaf Kunoichi focused her white gaze on the giant needle she was holding. Against the orange light, she looked eerie with her white eyes and pale skin. Her hair, which was very long, also added a good lot to the unearthly effect. "A Konoha ninja saving an Akatsuki… a criminal… now that is something I can call weird yeah?"

Mentally, Hinata agreed. But she did not say it out loud. She edged nearer to him, wrinkling her nose at the scent of muscle and blood and smoke.

"You are going to get in trouble for this Hinata." He told her.

"I know." She answered, knowing that the madman has a point. "But I have to."

"No, you didn't have to. No one orders you to do this yeah?" Deidara smirked. "You chose."

"Right." Hinata murmured. "I guess you're right. But you saved my life… I can't just let you die."

(f) _Hinata gagged. The Akatsuki who was holding her by the neck seemed intent on breaking it into two she could see starts dancing at the back of her eyes. If she remembered the description of her bingo book correctly, this one particular Akatsuki with the skeleton marks was Hidan._

" _You will make a good sacrifice for my Jashin." The Akatsuki said and leaned his mouth closer to a small bleeding gash on her chin. He licked the blood, sending cold shivers down her toes. Hinata could feel herself slipping. Derived with oxygen, her vision was getting darker and her mind was getting cloudy._

 _The Akatsuki named Hidan lapped her blood, licking it with gusto. Just for good measure, he let his tongue run down her neck. "Your blood tastes good. Jashin will be pleased. Such a beautiful face too… young and fresh."_

 _Even in her state, Hinata managed to clench her teeth and kicked her legs in defiance. She was a Kunoichi and she was trained not to give up even in her last breath. If she was going out, well she was going out fighting._

 _In the back of her mind though, she was drowning in self pity._

 _All her hard work… all her efforts… it will all go down the drain if she was going to get killed in this Akatsuki lair. She won't even be able to leave any clues that she found the place. A few days ago, she was tasked by the lady Hokage to track the Akatsuki's whereabouts with her team along with Team Kakashi. She had vowed to do her best then, unfortunately, she got separated from the unit and ended facing the most feared S-class criminals of this generation._

 _Long story short, she got caught by the people she was trying to trail._

 _She failed the mission._

 _She failed the Village._

" _Oh…still got a fight in you eh." Hidan laughed, letting go of her neck to hold her long blue hair. She cried out, unable to stop herself because of the pain. Flinging her arms wildly, Hinata managed to scratch the coal black skin of the much larger man. Her nails made an angry mark and blood flowed. Hidan only laughed._

 _Then Hinata found herself being thrown back in full force, she hit the cave wall with a dull thud. At that same moment, she could feel a few of her ribs snapped. The back of her head hit a stone when she landed on the ground and she groaned in pain, tears wetting her pearlescent eyes._

 _Now Hinata was very sure that she was going to die._

 _Acceptance for her bloody fate slowly sinking in, Hinata let the dark cloud of unconsciousness slowly take her body and mind. It was better this way. If she was unconscious, she won't feel a thing._

 _But before she closed her eyes, she saw another one of the cloaked figures walking towards her. She can't see clearly but she was dead sure he was one of them—hence the uniformed cloak. Compared to the one who was torturing her, this one however was shorter._

 _But his eye was very blue, and hair the color of sunshine… same as Naruto's. Strangely, she found comfort at seeing such a lively colors inside a dim cave, where she was about to let out her last breath._

 _She closed her eyes._

" _Hidan you shit. She is not supposed to be your sacrifice yeah? She was captured for interrogation."_

" _Shut your mouth Deidara. Or you'll lose all three of them."_

" _Fuck you, you religious devil." Deidara glared at the immortal creep who was now slowly transforming back to his normal, not black-colored self. "If the leader knew what you're doing… you are surely going to shit yourself." Kneeling over the fallen… weirdo. Weirdo for he never saw anyone so white and so pale with dark blue hair, he picked the kunoichi up unceremoniously from the cold ground. "Try keeping up with the orders yeah?" He faced Hidan again, adjusting the girl in his shoulder. He had tossed her over him like a bag of potatoes._

 _She was heavy._

 _Hidan smirked. "She's a perfect sacrifice."_

 _Deidara replied with a frown. "Go find yourself other sacrifices yeah? But not this one."_

 _With a sigh and a slow chant under his breath on how to keep big muscled idiots at bay, Deidara left Hidan and his Jashin-full-of-shit brain alone. It was only because Kakuzu—Hidan's real partner— was away for some money matters and also because lord Sasori was dead that he was temporarily partnered with Hidan._

 _If given his choice, he would rather pair up with a dead rabbit than with the sleek-haired immortal one. Hidan got a very smart mouth and a foul sense of humor. Deidara knew from the start that they would never get along. Besides, the Jashinist doesn't know what true art mean even if it hit him on the head. Hidan has no artistic flair whatsoever._

 _Really pathetic._

" _Stupid yeah." Deidara grunted as he dropped the unconscious girl on the soft straw mat. The cave that they were in has many manmade rooms—one for each Akatsuki member. Well except for Zetsu the man-plant, that one was a freak of nature and no one knows if he sleeps like a normal person._

 _No one bothered to ask._

 _The cave was one of the gang's many bases. Akatsuki has a lot of hidden lairs littered around the Shinobi map. Being an organization that was hunted all the time, they need to keep on jumping from one place to another to prevent being tracked._

 _The white skinned kunoichi stirred and Deidara rolled his eyes in relief. If the girl died, he and Hidan could kiss their asses goodbye. The leader of the organization doesn't like being disobeyed when he gives off specific instructions._

 _And he instructed that the girl be brought to him alive._

 _Kneeling beside the straw mat on the stone floor, he poked the girl's side with a thumb. There was blood on her vest and bruises on her face and neck. This one belongs to the Hyuga clan—that he could tell. Her eyes, when he checked, were white with tints of lavender on the sides._

 _In his opinion, people from the Hyuga were creepy. Their eyes look pupil-less._

" _Hey." Deidara said and frowned. "If you can hear me. Stop playing dead so we can dress your wounds yeah? You still need to travel and your wounds might be infected and kill you on the way."_

 _There was no answer._

" _I won't kill you." Deidara tried again. "At least not yet. Why don't you open your creepy eyes and help me out?"_

 _Again, he received nothing, just the sound of whizzing breath._

 _Deidara shrugged. "Tried being nice." He muttered before pulling a kunai from inside his cloak where a sturdy bag of blades hid. Brandishing the weapon first, he slashed at the vest and tore it off from the girl's body. He threw the vest away and transferred his blue gaze on her next garment._

 _He slashed at her black shirt._

::

 _Hinata clutched the black cloak that somehow replaced her old ninja uniform. When she looked at it properly, she almost choked to see that it was black with a cloud insignia. She never imagined—not even once—that she was going to have a chance to wear the famous Akatsuki cloak._

 _It was a symbol of death itself._

 _Her hands were bound along with her feet and she was sprawled on the hard ground inside what looked to be a small room made of stone and moss. Wiggling feebly, for she was still feeling the effects of her injuries, she tried to find an exit._

 _There was a door._

 _Hinata tried activating her Kekkei genkai but almost cried in dismay when she doesn't have the strength to summon chakra to her eyes. If she was correct, something…a drug maybe… made it that way. She can feel that her chakra was intact but somehow, she cannot activate her bloodline limit._

 _Finally, she decided to use her teeth. Curling her body to reach the ropes that tied her hands, she started gnawing. Her gums hurt but she didn't blink an eye. This was between life and death and even if she lost all her teeth, she was going to escape._

 _They haven't killed her yet… so there was still a chance._

 _What puzzled her though, were the bandages that wrapped her neck and arms. Hinata couldn't imagine an Akatsuki playing medic while she was in a deep sleep. For a second of dread, she hoped that they haven't tried anything funny on her body when she was out…sexually or scientifically._

 _To her surprise and extreme relief, the ropes snapped and she easily broke it with her bare strength. Without wasting a second, she freed her legs and jumped to her feet. The door's lock was on the outside but she was pretty sure she can break it big enough for her to pass. She may not be the best in Taijutsu but she had trained very, very hard. Breaking a door should be easy._

 _The trickier part was how to keep it quiet._

 _Hinata prepared her fists. She aimed._

 _But before she could give hit, the door swung open on its own accord. And to her bad luck, a ponytailed blonde was standing outside. His expression was expectant and impressed and she instinctively backpedaled. He smiled at her and his eyes widened in excitement. "Gotcha." He said."I know you won't be easily discouraged."_

 _Hinata crouched in her usual fighting stance._

 _Deidara chuckled at the fighting spirit the girl was showing. With the way she glared at him with her moon-like eyes, he couldn't help but be excited. And with excitement—his artistic feelings were kicking in—which made his hands itched to mold his precious clay bombs and blow something up._

 _Or blow this girl up._

" _You are a brave girl yeah."_

 _Hinata gritted her teeth and suddenly attacked. This Akatsuki was not as big as the others and not as tall. He just got one eye and the way he moved was not at all scary. Now that she can see clearly, she recognized him to be the famous Deidara._

 _The bomber… the psychopath… the killer. Those where just a few nicknames the bingo book has mentioned that Hinata can remember._

 _If she could just hit strong enough to—_

" _You are real gutsy too."_

 _Hinata gasped, the one man she has been aiming at suddenly disappeared in front of her like a puff of smoke. It was so fast her eyes couldn't catch up. In a split second of surprise, he suddenly materialized behind her. She screamed, unable to hold the dismay._

 _Deidara grabbed her by the neck which was still bruised and aching after the strangling session she received from the one named Hidan. She coughed, choking as he slammed her back on the wall and lifted her a few inches from the ground._

 _But despite the pain, Hinata felt something weird._

 _Something was moving…touching the skin of her neck. It was warm… it was wet… it was something with teeth._

 _Hinata screamed again, this time, out of fear._

 _Deidara laughed. "My hands are naughty yeah."_ (f)

Hinata bit the end of the thread with her teeth. She just finished stitching the big wounds closed. Her hands were dripping with blood and she wiped them on her black pants. She got a spare inside her pack so it doesn't matter if it got stained.

"It's been a few years since the last time I saw you." Deidara said in his now raspy voice as she kneads chakra on her palms. Hinata started tending the broken bones and it hurts like hell. He was so used to pain though, that he managed to keep up a straight face. "You've grown."

Hinata touched his knee joint, placed some pressure on it and pushed. The bone cracked but it was returned to its usual place. "Three years and six months to be exact." She said softly. "I never expected to see you again."

Deidara laughed. "You've been counting yeah."

"Yes."

"But as I said. What you're doing will get you to trouble."

"I know…"

"Foolish girl."

She continued to fix him up, tying, stitching, breaking, and returning. All the while, Hinata was wondering why she was doing so. Lady Tsunade had made it clear that the rest of the Akatsuki should be wiped out, now that the organization was not as strong as before because half of them were already dead.

Well, that was before when Deidara blew the rest.

Still mentally debating, Hinata watched Deidara's eye as she inserted a needle on his skin, injecting some greenish goo to his system. "Sleeping medicine." He guessed.

It was correct.

"You have to rest. You lost so much blood."

Deidara smirked. "Blood is nothing compared to the art lost when you stopped me from blowing myself and the rest of my fellow Akatsuki yeah."

Hinata brushed her hair back with an arm, careful that no blood touches her face. "You did blow them up. You are the remaining Akatsuki."

Deidara raised his zinged eyebrows. After few seconds, he laughed again. "And you saw it all? It's a marvelous sight right? Tell me… describe it."

"Why did you do it?" She asked.

Deidara's laughter ebbed.

"Why?"

"I'm tired of seeing what used to be great talented people die in the hands of Shinobi like animals. At least they're going to be a part of my art when they go."

It was a few minutes before the medicine had its effect on the blonde. When he was asleep, Hinata removed his tattered cloak and replaced it with her own. After making sure that he was comfortable regarding the circumstances, she left him and walked out of the cave to clean herself up in a nearby lake.

She also needed fresh air.

-o-o-o-

-crazygurl12


	2. Chapter 2

_Just a warning. I am not a native English speaker so there might be grammatical errors somewhere._

 _Also, I would like to thank my readers who are so nice and amazing! Thank you very much!_

 _Oh…and if you know any good DeiHina fics, please pm or put it in your reviews!_

-o-o-o-

Chapter Two

Hinata splashed cold water on her face. It was still very early for the sun hasn't' risen yet. The sky was still dark and the clouds were heavy. She could hear the crickets still singing their nocturnal songs, waiting for the warmth of day to make them stop.

Looking at her reflection on the shallow water, Hinata took a deep breath. The young woman staring back at her was different from what she expected. She wasn't able to recognize who it was. She saw the familiar white eyes… the pale skin and oval face.

But there was something…strange.

Her eyes were still the same but sadness was visible on them, like she might cry any second. Her lips were still pink and full but it was lopsided like she was permanently wearing a grim expression. She was a happy girl by nature and a smile was a natural thing for her, it was weird how she wasn't able to manage one since she saw him.

Shaking her head, Hinata rubbed her forehead to ease the creases her frown was making.

Leave it to one crazy artist to mess with her this way.

It has been four days since she found Deidara… and those four days were spent tending to his wounds and keeping him alive. Deidara's body has fast self-healing properties so it responded well with the ointments and medicines she gave him. If everything goes well, he'll be good as new in no time.

"What luck…"Hinata murmured as she removed a small leather container hanging at the side of her thin waist. She filled the container with water and sighed again.

What luck indeed. She was just passing by this area after a successful mission from the land of Wind, never knowing that something like this awaits her here. If she was someone smart and gutsy, she would never have pulled Deidara out from his own explosion.

She should've let him die. And then report to the Hokage about it and then all the credits will be showered upon her. What great honor would it bring to her clan, that finally, their weak princess did something worthy, ridding the Shinobi world from the rest of the Akatsuki.

(f) _Hinata watched in mute fascination as a white clay bird the size of her fist, hopped up and down her leg. After weeks of being held hostage inside a dark stone-made room which smells of moss and stagnant air, seeing something so… cute and pretty was overwhelming._

 _She was speechless._

 _Speechless also at the fact that one of her abductors—a famous psychopath—was grinning at her wide like a kid who just shared a candy._

" _Beautiful yeah? It's a new one. " Deidara said excitedly. It was a new clay design and he wanted to show it to anyone—anyone who would listen to him rant about his wonderful pieces. Unfortunately, no one from the Akatsuki ever will because they are all messed up freaks with issues in a lot of things, one way or another._

 _In the past, there was another artistic soul in the organization—lord Sasori—but he was the first one to get killed. It was pathetic really, that a lover of art like him was going to be killed by a mere girl and an old woman._

 _Very laughable._

 _So it left him with only one audience, and by the looks of it, the way her eyes widened in amazement and her lips parted in awe, he was making quite a good show. The Hyuga girl had been with them for a few weeks now for the Leader wanted her to be alive until they gauge her creepy eyes out._

 _Apparently, the Leader has good reasons why he was keeping her alive. He wouldn't share it though._

" _I blow people to ash and dust using this." He murmured. "Beautiful, beautiful art."_

 _Hinata's eyes widened all the more, amusement evaporating and now just mostly terrified. Something was terribly wrong with this person if he find blowing people up to be so beautiful. It also didn't help that his one visible eye, the one that was not covered with his long hair, shone with passion as he said the words._

 _No. Actually it was more than passion._

 _It was obsession._

 _Slowly, Hinata crept away from the pretty little clay bird. It was still pretty in her eyes but not so appealing now that she knew it was actually a bomb. After being held hostage for many days, she was actually not planning on dying in this old musky cave. She had made up her mind days ago to try her best and survive. She had gathered enough intel about this S-class organization that it was going to be a loss if she would die with the information._

 _The village still needs her._

 _Deidara laughed, expression transforming from mad obsession to simple amusement. "It's just a prototype silly. It won't kill you if it blows. Maybe just take a leg or two but that's it."_

 _Hinata cringed._

 _Deidara tumbled back, holding his midsection and guffawing hard. "Your expression is epic. I'm just messing with you yeah."_

" _I…" Hinata muttered and she frowned. Now she was sure that the man in front of her was totally crazy. His head was too messed up he was not only a threat to the Shinobi world but also to his fellow criminal members. Now that she pondered about it, she noticed that the rest of the Akatsuki members don't really stay in one place with him._

" _So you are scared when it comes to bombs yeah?"_

 _Hinata blinked._

 _Deidara edged closer and placed a hand to cover his lips like he was sharing a secret. "Don't worry. It's not gonna tick and no way that's it gonna blow. It's just pure clay bird. I'm just…" He lowered his voice. "Practicing."_

 _Hinata took a deep breath, relief flooding her senses._

 _Deidara stood up, knowing that he had scared the girl for his amusement long enough. For a prisoner, she was really nice. She doesn't talk too much and was actually showing good manners. Their past prisoners were all noisy… either screaming insults at them or pleading for their pathetic lives._

 _He decided he liked her… even though he still found her eyes creepy._

 _All eyes with bloodline limits are._

" _I have to go." He told her, scratching the back of his neck. The Leader wanted him to incinerate a small town a few miles from here before the sun sets. Suddenly, his body tingled with the excitement for blowing things up. For him, it was truest form of art and he can't wait to get started._

 _He turned his back on the blue haired prisoner._

" _Wait." Her small voice halted him from his tracks. He lolled his head back._

" _Y-your clay bird." She daintily picked it up and handed it to him. In truth, she just wanted to get it away from it as far as possible. Now that she was able to talk to him closely, and in a conversation where he was the one who mostly spoke, she can tell that he was mentally unstable._

 _So maybe… the bird wasn't safe at all._

 _He smiled. She was a good listener so he was going to give her a prize. "You keep it. You are locked inside this room with nothing to do so play with it if you like."_

 _Hinata looked doubtful._

 _Deidara winked. "So you don't miss me too much yeah?"_

 _-o-o-o-_

 _Hinata wanted to scream but a large hand found its way on her mouth, crushing her lips she could barely make a sound. Her legs were bound with ropes and her hands—even free, can do nothing to push the man who had climbed on top of her, pinning her body with his weight. She couldn't use her bloodline limit yet so she was defenseless._

 _It was the Akatsuki named Hidan._

 _The Jashinist._

 _The murderer and the immortal._

" _The boss said that we can't kill you but he didn't order anything about playing with you a little bit." He hissed against her ear. To prove his point, he licked the soft skin with his warm, big tongue._

 _Hinata whimpered, hoping that this was all a bad dream._

 _She was hoping that she was not going to be violated by this S-class criminal, that she'll wake up from this nightmare and be back inside the protection of the village… of her friends._

 _But then again… dreams were just dreams while nightmares were real._

 _If only they haven't done anything with her chakra –which weakened her a great deal—she'll surely fight this man even if it kills her. There was no way that she'll let him touch her the way he does now. It was frightening and disgusting…_

 _Hinata gasped when her hands, which were already bruised from days of being bound, were yanked up and pinned above her head. She winced, feeling a few joints dislocate from their places. Hidan's hand left her mouth only to be smashed again by his rough lips._

 _She could taste her own blood._

 _Hinata's eyes widened, tears flowing freely. She was feeling so helpless… so weak._

" _Shit!" Hidan pulled back with a jerk. His lower lip was bleeding and the blood runs down to his chin and finally landing on Hinata's neck. "You have the guts to bite me?" He asked. Hinata was still crying but she felt satisfied that she managed to bring him pain. It was then that she made a mental promise to cause Hidan a great deal more of it._

 _To her surprise and dismay, Hidan laughed and his eyes rolled back in their sockets. His face a picture of nothing but pleasure. "I love pain. Bring me more of it." He hissed, leaning down to lick his own blood from her neck. "You know what I'm going to do with you?" He whispered._

 _Hinata closed her eyes, defeated._

" _If I can't sacrifice you to Jashin… then you are going to be a sacrifice for me." Hidan said with a rough note. "I'm going to touch you…taste you… fuck you."_

" _Please stop." A Hyuga doesn't plead, they negotiate. But Hinata doesn't care anymore. Never in her life did she felt so disgusted, not only with the man who was violating her but for herself. What's worse, she could feel everything that Hidan was doing… touching and licking…kissing and grunting._

 _Hidan's laughter filled her ears. For a brief moment, he stopped whatever he was doing and looked at her clothes with a glare. "Damn. I hate these clothes." He said before grabbing her shirt and tearing it in half with bare strength._

 _Hinata trembled as hr exposed skin made the large man grunt in approval._

" _Hiding some good treasures in here aren't you?" Hidan chuckled as Hinata's hands tried to cover what was exposed of her body._

" _I agree." A new voice chimed in._

 _And just like that, Hidan's mood changed from pleasure and sexual excitement to anger. He tilted his head to where the voice came, and saw one of the most annoying members of the Akatsuki. Growling like an animal, he spat. "What the fuck Deidara?"_

" _Uh…" Deidara pretended to be nonchalant, like seeing a man about to rape a girl was something not worth the trouble. Hinata was actually not surprised. "I was actually just passing by to say hello and talk something about art but… you seem busy yeah."_

 _Hidan hissed. "Get your ass out of this room."_

" _I don't want to pry… but don't you think the Leader is going to get mad?" Deidara asked, shrugging. "You are immortal but you know what the Leader can do yeah."_

" _Fuck yourself!"_

" _Tried. Didn't work."_

" _Fuck it!"_

" _Ah….sure."_

 _Hidan cursed a few good times before getting off the whimpering kunoichi. His eyes glared daggers at the blonde who was smiling at him. It was very annoying and it destroyed his mood. Without saying a word, he decided to just leave the room and kill someone else._

 _Besides, it was going to be a waste of time talking to the likes of this crazy blonde bastard. It will only piss him more._

 _When Hidan left, Hinata did not sat up but curled into a ball. She closed her eyes, hands clutching at her sides just so she can hold on to something. She was still bare from the waist up but her position was enough to cover her chest. Deidara was still inside the room but she doesn't care anymore._

 _She took deep breaths as a sob racked her frame. A few seconds later, something warm and heavy landed on her back, covering her like a blanket. Hinata froze, and when she managed the will to look up, there was no one inside the room._

 _It was only her and the Akatsuki cloak… and a small white clay bird hopping up and down the floor._ (f)

Hinata entered the cave's entrance, pushing the vines and giant leaves away from her face. It was a good camouflage for if someone was outside, the cave won't be recognized easily. It was like a secret passage with trees surrounding it and leaves to hide it from unwanted eyes.

Inside however, the cave was very dark, that's why she kept three torches lit. One was for the narrow passageway and two in the inner part where Deidara was resting.

Deidara was still lying on his back, most of his body wrapped in bandages and spare clothes. Hinata knew he was awake because he stirred a little when she was near enough for her chakra signature to be recognized. Without a word, she kneeled beside him and removed the lid from her water container.

Giving his body a swift glance, she was satisfied to see that it was healing good and fast. "It's water." She murmured, slipping a hand on his lacerated back as she pushed him up just a little. She placed the water lid on his lips. For a surprising change, Deidara said nothing but then took large sips. Hinata took the lid away from his face fast. "You are drinking too fast." She told him.

Deidara smirked and his blue eye transferred from the water container to her.

Hinata stared back, only to regret it a few seconds when she couldn't take her white eyes away. Deidara smirked as his lips tilted to the sides in amusement—an expression usually only used so naturally by Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Neji.

This was one of Deidara's many personalities, Hinata realized. She knew that there were times when he was totally mental…times when he can be reasoned with and times that he can't.

And there were times when he was dead serious where his eye can impact you greatly with just a stare. It was one of the times when Hinata wished that he was his mental self instead.

She was the first one to break eye contact.

Deidara smirked, looking satisfied.

"Here." Hinata placed the tip of the leather container on his lips.

"I drank enough." Deidara said.

"Okay." Hinata said, her voice barely heard. She doesn't know why she was almost whispering, almost scared. Well, what she was doing right now would surely scare the wits out of a few people but…

Deidara's gaze transfixed on her again. "You still carry that clay bird around you yeah?"

Hinata's eyes widened just a little bit to show him that she was surprised. Fortunately, she was a more experienced kunoichi now so she was able to handle the surprise coolly. A part of her says that she has to thank the Akatsuki for that bad experience years ago.

She was stronger and more composed.

When they held her hostage within their midst, she had learned quite a lot, picked up little by little with thorough observation how criminal and S-class minds worked.

She was not the same timid, scared and helpless Hinata this Akatsuki had known.

"What clay bird?" She asked, not meeting his gaze. When she was young and naïve, she thought that electric blue eyes were nothing but a sign of happiness… of life.

A sign of hope and good will.

Later, she realized that she was wrong—she had been crazy for Naruto back then and his blue eyes were somewhat magnificent to her— but then again, she was just a child. Blue eyes also mean death and pain and madness…

She could see that now.

Actually scratch that. She had seen it three years back.

Deidara raised his eyebrows. "You know… my clay things were made not only by clay but my own chakra. My chakra is what makes it explode yeah. I would know if you carry one of them or not."

Hinata said nothing but let Deidara's back touch the ground again. She returned the container's lid and straightened herself up. Finally, she looked at him again, defiant. "The explosion messed with your brain than it already was. I don't know what you're talking about."

Deidara laughed, humorless. "Braver…more beautiful…and now a liar." He was impressed. "You are really the epitome of a kunoichi Hinata. I can't even recognize you from your past self. You are very _pure_ back then yeah." When he first laid eyes on her, Hinata was a picture of hope and honor and dignity. It was the old I'll-die-for-my-village-because-my-heart-is-pure-thing and Hinata got that going on.

Now there were no traces of it left.

"Or…." Deidara continued. "You are the one that explosion had messed up. Between the two of us, you did something that you were never supposed to do. Me alive is a proof of that yeah."

"Maybe." Hinata replied grimly. "Maybe you are right."

"Aren't you afraid that your village will be looking for you?" Deidara asked. "You are jumping inside a big mess."

Hinata couldn't agree more. She tilted her head slightly to stare at the flickering torch she had attached on the wall. The village will be looking for her sure, for she was scheduled to reach it yesterday. "I can't leave you yet." She murmured, shock at the truthfulness that came out of her mouth.

"Sooner or later, I'm still going to die and you know that yeah. Might as well let me die here." Deidara said. It was true. He was an S-class criminal and the Shinobi world was hunting for him. Now that he was the only remaining Akatsuki, the stakes were now doubled and his chances low.

And even if he survives the chase, there might also be a high chance that he'll die in his own hands. He was fucking bored with his life and there was no true art in running away from his enemies. And if self-pity and his passion for art clashes together…it will surely result to his death.

There was nothing else to it.

"I know." Hinata replied. For a second there, Deidara saw sadness in her eyes.

"It's inevitable yeah."

"Maybe, but if you only change your mind. Go far and start—"

Deidara laughed, his voice echoing. "I have been pulled to deep to start anew Hinata."

-o-o-o-

 _Here ends the chapter. Please review!_

 _-crazygurl12_


	3. Chapter 3

_Last chap! (But I am going to divide this into two. The other one will be posted soon.) I really enjoyed writing this one. Thank you for the people who followed and reviewed! It was really awesome!_

 _Deidara is a complex character and I never knew that I will love his character very much._

-o-o-o-

Chapter Three

(f) _Hinata was feeling uncomfortable while Deidara felt he just found a new person to confide his passion for art. "You see… my clan—they are all dead by the way—were born with this." He raised his palms to show the girl one of his unique physical trait—his clay-chewing mouths. He saw Hinata stared and he wiggled his fingers. "We are the clan of the mouths."_

 _Hinata blinked._

 _He shrugged then scratched his head. "Eh…forget the name. I made that name up since I don't know what my clan's real title is. Sounds silly yeah?"_

 _Hinata looked down and held her hands together on her lap. She was still a prisoner of the Akatsuki, so it was weird that one Akatsuki in particular was talking to her like they were friends. Sure he had been saving her from Hidan's assaults, claiming that it was the leader's orders._

 _But there were also times that he was scary._

 _She hasn't forgotten the fight between them yet—that was when he caught her trying to escape. It was a few weeks ago, and she was still feeling the pain of their encounter. During their fight, which was short, he managed to throw her against a tree, kicked her guts out, and strangled her._

 _This man has serious issues._

" _They have a mind of their own… I mean, they are both part of my body and follow my orders perfectly." Deidara still kept his hands up for her to see. Hinata saw two tongues sticking out. "But really… I can hear them laughing sometimes."_

 _Hinata made a pretense that she was listening; she bobbed her head a little like she was giving his statement some serious thought. Both of them were sitting cross-legged on the stone floor since her prison room doesn't have anything except for a chamber pot, canteen of water, and hay for sleeping._

 _Deidara raised a knee and he rested his hands on it. On top of his hands, he rested his chin. "Want to see something good?" He asked._

" _Ah…" Hinata wasn't sure if good was something nice in Deidara's vocabulary. She got a feeling that when Akatsuki says 'good', it was something bad._

 _Deidara didn't wait for her to respond. He excitedly dug some clay from the fanny pack around his waist. Tongue slithered out of the mouths on his palms and scooped a handful of clay. Hinata watched in amazement as the mouth chewed. A few seconds later, it spat out the clay in a form of flowers._

" _It's…p-pretty." She managed; too impressed to remember that this was her abductor she was talking too. They were enemies, and there might comes a time that she was going to be the one to kill him when she get the chance to escape again._

 _Or maybe the other way could happen too._

 _Deidara nodded. "Do you know why I blow these pretty little pieces? Like the bird I gave you the last time?"_

 _Hinata shook her head and pressed her lips together. The bird that he gave her was still in her keeping. She hates to admit it but it has been a great help to keep her mind on the ground. She would look at it… even play with it sometimes, and she would forget for even just a few seconds, the misery she was in._

 _Deidara's eyes turned serious. The goofy grin was nowhere to be found on his face as his passion for art was rising up. No one bothered to ask why he was so obsessed with his art, so it felt good to know that someone wanted to hear it…even if he was forcing the listener a little._

" _Things are beautiful… but they always change. Change is the only unchangeable thing in life see? People grow old… die. Flowers withered… building collapsed. What used to be beautiful—when old and withered—will only be remembered in its current state. Not in its former glory." Deidara scratched his chin. "I hope you get my point yeah."_

 _Hinata was silent._

 _Deidara took it as a sign to continue. "If you destroy something before it was completely ruined… then the image it will leave behind is beautiful. It is art."_

" _But why do you blow people up? Why do you kill?" Hinata asked, finding the courage to speak what was bothering her mind for weeks. "Why do what you and the rest of Akatsuki are doing?"_

" _There are things that people will never understand yeah."_

" _But… you understand that what you're doing is wrong…right? People are getting killed in the process… innocent people."_

 _Deidara's serious face turned grim before it lightened up into a smile. "Do you think that the people you are serving are really righteous Hinata? Didn't it ever occurred to you, that maybe, they also killed hundreds of innocent people?"_

" _T-they just wanted to keep the peace—"_

 _Deidara laughed. It was a hysterical kind of laughter and Hinata flinched. "Sure they do."_

" _It's true."_

" _You are naïve…only shows that you are someone who works above ground—a puppet. The village keeps people like you to show the locals that everything is done with honor and reason yeah…but you never really knew what's happening underground."_

" _What do you mean?"_

 _Deidara stood up, drop the flower on the ground and trampled it with a foot. "I guess I talked enough yeah." He grinned at her, one blue eye glinting. "As for your question… you'll see for yourself someday. That is if you are still alive before the leader is done with you."_

 _-o-o-o-_

 _Hinata's eyeballs rolled back her in their sockets as she slowly choke on the death grip around her neck._

 _It was the third time that she was caught escaping… and like the first, it was Deidara who found her again. In a small part of her already-cloudy mind, she wondered why it was always him… when there were a lot of Akatsuki inside the hideout._

 _Why was it that way?_

 _Based on her observation, he was not the person in charge of keeping watch over her. It was the new member… the masked man with the personality of a ten year old, Tobi._

" _How many times do I have to tell you that don't try escaping yeah." Deidara hissed, gripping Hinata's neck a little stronger. He was careful though, to keep her conscious. It was an exact order to keep her alive and he was following that no matter what happens._

 _Hinata tried her best to pry Deidara's strong hand from her neck._

 _It was futile._

 _Deidara smirked, electric blue eye glinting anger…madness. Hinata managed to glance at it once in a split second where he pushed her on a rough tree trunk. The chase—which she started—ended a few kilometers from the Akatsuki's base._

 _She gasped when the hard bark scratched the skin of her almost bare back. She managed to dodge Deidara's clay bombs earlier but her clothes were slightly burnt. The back of her dirty shirt was nothing but a few tattered threads connecting to hold the thin garment together._

 _Her front side though, was still enough to cover her._

" _You made me very mad yeah." Deidara hissed again. This place was out of Akatsuki territory, and a few more miles and Hinata might have ended going to the boundaries of Kiri. It was going to be very hard getting her back then—probably impossible._

 _Hinata coughed, trying to breathe air._

" _You know that they are going to punish you when we get back." Diedara said, still holding her by the neck. "You like that yeah?"_

 _Hinata bit her tongue to keep her mind clear. "I… I …d-don't care. I don't c-care what they do…"_

" _You don't care? So why did you wailed like a child when Hidan started violating you yeah?" He asked her, gritting his teeth. "If you don't care… you should have let him… or maybe, I should have let him." With that, he let go of her and she slumped on the grass, choking. Deidara brushed his long hair away from his face._

 _Hinata's hand wrapped around her neck. Deidara grunted and looked upward. The clouds were dark and he was almost sure it was going to rain. With an exasperated sigh, he faced the girl again. Really, after weeks of being nice to her—something that he never does even to his fellow Akatsuki members—he thought that she would know better._

 _Tears started falling on Hinata's face, just as the first drops of rain started falling on them. The slight wounds and scratches on her body stung when the cold rain water touched her skin. Sniffing, she looked at the man who was scowling at the clouds._

" _Just kill me." She declared. She was tired of all this._

 _Deidara smiled, but it was humorless. "I'm afraid it is not that easy yeah." He crouched down so that they were eye leveled. Long blonde hair sticking on his cheeks as he looked at her, one blue eye against two white ones. "Sometimes, there are things that you can never fight against. The sooner you know that, the better you will be."_

 _He picked her up._

 _She started wiggling._

" _You are hardheaded yeah." He muttered as his left hand steadied Hinata's body on his shoulder while his right formed into a hand seal. Chakra formed on the tip of his fingers and he pressed it on Hinata's leg, near her joints. The girl grunted at the unfamiliar pain, and then when she could not hold it any longer, she screamed. "I am blocking the chakra flow on your legs… so you can't run from me."_

 _Hinata gasped, pain still racking her frame._

 _A few minutes later, Hinata was lying on top of a giant clay bird, wet and cold and in pain. She tried moving her legs but they won't follow her orders. Deidara was standing near the giant bird's neck, looking ahead as rain poured down on them._

" _You… are wrong." Hinata started._

 _Deidara lolled his head back. "I'm still angry at you… you might want to be careful with your words yeah."_

" _Everyone has a choice. Whether you fight back or not…. You always have a choice." Hinata was feeling bold since she has nothing to lose. In her state, she was starting to get—even though it hurts to admit—hopeless. "No matter how big the odds are, you can always fight back."_

 _Deidara looked amused. "I think its foolishness."_

" _Its courage."_

" _Courage kills."_

" _Courage saves." Hinata muttered and touched her aching forehead. It was then that she noticed that her fingers were shaking. She coughed, softly at first and then more louder._

 _She felt darkness engulfed her then._

 _When she opened her eyes, she was surprised that it was already dark and she was lying on what looked to be a dark blanket. When she looked at it closely, she found out that it was an Akatsuki cloak. There was a fire burning a meter away from her and two big chunks of meat roasting over it._

 _Looking around, she realized that she was in a small clearing, hidden under large trees and bushes._

" _We have to camp because you looked like you can't make it back." Deidara said from behind her and she snapped her head to his direction. For the first time, she saw that he was wearing a netted shirt—which showed arms with stitch marks. "Leader will have my fucking neck if something happens to you."_

" _What…happened?"_

" _You passed out on me yeah."_

 _Hinata said nothing but began analyzing her situation and observing every little thing. She sat up, feeling the numbness of her legs._

 _Deidara smirked. "You still can't walk. Don't try anything silly yeah." Picking up the end of the makeshift roasting stick, he handed her the chunk of roasted meat. Knowing her situation, Hinata accepted the food without a word. It was the smartest thing to do right now anyway._

 _To her surprise, Deidara sat beside her and stared at his own food._

 _Deidara was not the bulky type, but his body was fit and obviously strong. Hinata saw large scars decorating his arms and back, something that was poorly hidden by just a netted shirt. His still damp hair was covering most of his face, giving him a shadowy look._

 _He was handsome… or should have been handsome. But his metal eye patch and scarred body was taking the spotlight from his face. Deidara suddenly inclined his head towards her and she hastily looked away._

 _He laughed._

 _She returned her gaze back to him, bewildered._

" _You have a pretty face yeah." He said. "I think that's why Hidan is so fucking crazy about you."_

 _Later that night, Deidara insisted that Hinata rest her battered body and that he was going to keep watch until morning. For Hinata, it was kind of amazing how he could act like nothing happened to them a few hours back. He tried tending her wounds as if he was not the one who inflicted it._

 _It was confusing._ (f)

Deidara picked a small rock beside him and let it bounce against the wall.

He did it again…and again… and again.

Hinata knew that the remaining Akatsuki was bored but she tried not to mind him as she unrolled the fresh bandages on her lap. She applied disinfecting salve on it and powdered herbal plants. Careful that the herbs don't fall, she carried the bandages with steady hands and kneeled beside him.

Deidara was leaning on the cave wall, his eye on her.

She silently touched his arm, slashed the old bandages with a kunai attached to her leg, and started working. The wounds were healing fast and Deidara, under her watchful eyes, was starting to get back to his normal physical strength.

"If you are done playing nurse, tell me yeah." Deidara said.

Hinata leaned closer, trying to reach the small pin she used to hold the bandages together at his side. When she did, she realized a little too late that her action made her face too close to Deidara's nose. It also did not help that he didn't lean away. "Tell me if you're done playing dumb… then I'll stop playing nurse."

Deidara chuckled. "You've change a lot. You're never the one to talk like that."

"You had a help with that."

Diedara looked down and took a deep breath. His body was still not in good shape but Hinata was a good healer. She may not be a medic but she was very good with tending wounds. As the woman continued to do whatever she was doing, he closed his eye.

Hinata sighed and stared at the face of the man she once despised.

The man that she also fell in love so unexpectedly with three years ago.

It was crazy… that she was able to feel that way. But during her stay with the Akatsuki, Deidara managed to show her his many sides. Most of it was pretty frightening but sometimes, he was just very passionate. He was a jolly person in nature and it was a waste he ended up a criminal and mentally unstable.

Deidara was a man that was abused until he learned how to be strong and how to fight back... how to use his skills and talent to get what he wanted and to put his idealism into reality. Unfortunately, he doesn't know where and when to stop until he was pulled too deep into the darkness until he has no means of escape.

Hinata doesn't want to fall for a madman… for a criminal, but it seems like she has no choice. She was pulled to him like a magnet and before she knew it, she was in love with the man she hated.

She hated him because he kills people with glee… with gusto.

She hated him because she was drawn to him and there was nothing she can do to make it stop.

Three years ago, when she managed to escape Akatsuki's grasp, it was the last time that she saw him. She even thought that he was dead—and actually, she knew it was for the better. She knew it was for her own good, and was happy that it was that way.

She had gotten over it… or that's what she told herself back then.

But fate really knew how to play tricks on people's lives…

She saw him again…and jumped head first into this big mess.

::

Deidara woke from a nightmarish sleep with a groan. He opened his eye and by habit, looked around the room sharply for danger. When he saw sure that he was fine, his gaze focused on the woman sprawled on the floor a few feet from where he was lying.

He smirked. Hinata had insisted that she be the one to watch as they rest. It seems like fatigue and lack of sleep was taking a toll on her body. She was worn out—he could tell—but she was trying to show him how tough she was.

"You are a silly girl yeah. I let you go but you kept coming back." Deidara muttered as he sighed. Gently, he pushed himself into a sitting position and watched her body move as she breathe.

(f) _Deidara felt weird._

 _He can't stop thinking about the Hyuga prisoner. She was like a leech inside his mind, sucking all the focus from his work at hand. Maybe she got this effect on him because she was the first person to listen to him blab about his love for art._

 _But really… he felt pissed that her face keeps on bugging him mentally._

 _Deidara groaned. "Fuck."_

 _The masked man, Tobi, clasped his hands together in glee. They were sitting on top of the waterfall, on one of the big rocks. "Deidara-senpai! You looked disturbed."_

 _Deidara leaned his head back. "Shut up or I'll blow you to pieces." This new partner of his was really getting to his bones. Tobi was too childish….too loud._

 _Tobi placed his hands on both sides of his mask, as if he was offended and surprised that Deidara said those words. With a shake of his head, his shoulders slumped. "Deidara-senpai is angry… "_

" _Just be quiet yeah."_

" _Is it because of the Hyuga prisoner?"_

 _Deidara's head snapped and one eye widened in surprise. He looked at Tobi with a glare, which surprised him even more because at the exact moment, the light hit Tobi's mask just right…showing one raven-colored eye. Itachi Uchiha has the same eye color as that. "What did you say?"_

 _Tobi wiggled his arms. "You have been spending a lot of time in her cell…"_

" _I'm talking about art! Since none of the bastards ever listen!"_

" _I listen…" Tobi said._

" _You don't count yeah." Deidara snapped. He doesn't know why he was so defensive but it was already like that before he even knew it. "Pea-brains don't count."_

 _Tobi sighed and then looked up. "You have been warding Hidan-senpai off away from her too. Saw you two fight a few times Deidara-senpai. Oh… and I remember that one time when you took the blow for her when Kakuzu tried his new experimental jutsu and it bounced off the cave wall…she was asleep though, she doesn't even know about that."_

" _Have you been stalking me?" Deidara asked suspiciously._

" _You know Deidara-senpai. Leader-sama will harm the Hyuga prisoner anyway. So why bother protecting her from anyone else?"_

 _To that Deidara was silent. With a sigh, she lolled his head to the other direction. "Shut up idiot."_

 _But now he realized, Tobi was not an idiot after all._

" _I think you like herrrrrr…" Tobi teased, slurring the words playfully for effect. Deidara gritted his teeth and without warning, kicked the new Akatsuki recruit on his behind. Tobi gasped, flailing his hands up to try regaining his balance but eventually failed._

 _He dropped on the water with a loud splash._ (f)

-o-o-o-


	4. Chapter 4

_Second half of the last chapter!_

 _Thank you for being with me in this story guys. You are all so awesome. Please do not forget to review!_

-o-o-o-

Chapter Three (Second half)

Hinata opened her eyes and then returned to reality with a snap.

She hissed, realizing that she fell asleep when she was so intent on being on the watch for the night. She thought that she was pretty much able even though she was a little tired from the lack of sleep and from her travel a few days ago. She rubbed her eyes, trying to remove traces of sleep in case—

"I told you, you should get some rest yeah."

Hinata stiffened on the spot, tilted her head a few inches from the side and then came face to face with Deidara's bruised but still grinning face. He was lying on the ground next to her on his side, his head on top of his palm. In his position, his blonde hair covered the whole side of his face.

"H-how did you—"

"I crawled. Can't stand up yet because my bones are broken…well you know that yeah."

Hinata still looked confused, especially when she saw that Deidara was not wearing the cloak she gave him but just a simple black shirt. A second later after the mystery came to mind, she saw the answer when she looked at herself.

The cloak was placed around her like a blanket.

"You're cold." He answered as if knowing that she was going to ask. "Your teeth keep on clattering and it's annoying yeah."

Hinata said nothing as she stared at the man who was lying just a foot from her. Even in the torchlight, she could make out the stitches on his arms, giving the picture that he was once operated on or something. Slowly, her eyes trailed from his arms up to his chest, and lastly to his face.

The jolly grin vanished from his face, from that point forward; Hinata knew that it was business.

"You have to leave sooner than later yeah." He said, electric blue eye against hers. He already had a makeshift eye patch on his non-working eye made of tattered cloth from his old Akatsuki cloak. "Your village should be looking for you. I don't even need to elaborate the consequences if they found you out."

Hinata removed her gaze from Deidara and settled on the torch hanging on the wall.

"You shouldn't have—"

"I'm tired of you saying that I shouldn't have interfered. We can't do anything about that now can we?" Her voice was calm and collected but her hands turned into knuckles.

Deidara smiled. "Atta girl."

Hinata gritted her teeth. "Why are you so intent for me to leave and—"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt."

Hinata's head snapped back to its former direction and she looked at the blonde who she never thought she was going to be seeing again…left alone to spend time with him and tend his wounds that he himself inflicted. When her eyes found his blue orb again, she held the contact firmly.

Deidara smirked. "You should stop playing house and leave me be. If you really wanted me to live, you would get as far from me as possible."

"Hn."

"Very, very far."

"You know, you're right." Hinata suddenly felt angry. "You are once my abductor… a person who threatened my life and my village plenty of times—even killed people I know. So why do I even waste time and put my life on the line for you?" She found herself murmuring.

"The same reason why I wasted my life and time with you too… or three years ago." Deidara answered simply. "But I didn't left you back to your village to ruin the second chance that was given to you Hinata. You know yourself that you are the only person to be ever imprisoned by the Akatsuki and managed to get out alive."

Hinata opened her mouth but he cut her off before she could say anything. "And don't fucking tell me that you are just returning the favor because we both know that what happened between us is something more yeah."

Hinata closed her mouth and bit her lower lip instead. "Done playing dumb at last."

Deidara chuckled, but a few seconds later, he returned to his serious self. "But even so, won't deny that I'm glad to see you… and see how you have grown to be so strong." In a lighter note, he added. "You can even say what's inside your mind with sass."

"As I said, you had a help with that."

"I'm sassy?"

"You don't know that yet?" Hinata pretended that it was a huge deal, tilting her head back for effect. She saw Deidara smirked again as he adjusted his position to where he was more comfortable.

Deidara was quiet. For the first time in years, he was racking his artistic mind for anything to talk about. It was silly really, and he can't help but laughed mentally at himself for being so. _Pathetic…really pathetic._ He shook his head, aware that Hinata was watching his every move with her eyes.

Still creepy if he says so himself.

"You know…"He started again as he edged closer. "I'm cold."

"S-so why did you give me the cloak was that was supposed to be yours?"

"Ohh…you stuttered."

"I'm just cold."

"Liar. I'm making you stutter."

"N-no."

"You did it again."

Hinata scowled. "You doesn—"

She wasn't able to finish what she was about to say. Deidara—without any warning—reached for her neck and suddenly pulled her towards him with surprising strength for one so battered. Her eyes widened but before she could react, he pressed his lips against hers in a hard, painful kiss.

Weirdly, Hinata wasn't' surprised. She had a feeling that something like this would happen the moment she decided that she was going to help Deidara live.

Because at the exact moment, she realized that her feelings for him never really left after all these years.

(f) _Deidara forced the food on Hinata's mouth. The girl however, spat the food right back to his face. He blinked, and then sighed as he wiped the pasta from his face. He can't blame her though, Tobi's cooking was gross. But still, she was not supposed to complain because she was just a prisoner._

" _You know… you can make this easier for yourself yeah?"_

" _P-please leave me alone."_

" _Nope. Leader-sama will skin me if something happens to you."_

" _Then I have one more reason not to eat."_

 _Deidara blinked, and then laughed like what she said was really amusing. He gave her an impressed look like she just earned his respect. "Brave girl." Putting the bowl of food in front of her which she can't touch since the Akatsuki members decided to bind her after her third attempt at escaping, Deidara craned his neck up. "But you'll starve. Braveness won't feed you."_

" _Just please leave me alone."_

" _Can't do that yeah."_

" _Please."_

 _Deidara sighed and then focused his attention on her again. After staring at her—which made her cheeks turn red—he decided that it was better if Hinata knew how things should work around here. Sure he was nicer to her compared to the others—something that actually bothered him— but sometimes, he needed to be harsh. "If you won't eat…" He started, making his voice dark._

 _Hinata flinched, heart beating wild at what Deidara might say._

" _Then I'm going to eat this!" Deidara finished with a glare, grabbing the bowl of food for effect._

 _Hinata's jaw dropped._

 _Deidara wiggled an eyebrow. "So you rather eat yeah?"_

 _::_

" _Go."_

 _Hinata looked at the blonde Akatsuki in disbelief. Really? He was going to just let her go? "W-what—"_

" _I said go." Deidara looked around the clearing as he growled at the Hyuga. This was Konoha's boundaries and if someone spotted his giant clay bird, he was going to surely get into trouble. "Do not let me repeat myself yeah."_

 _Hinata just stood on her spot. "Why?" In her knowledge, she and Deidara were going to another different Akatsuki base to ward of the trackers. She was there… she was there when the orange-haired leader with the piercings spoke the order. If Deidara was disobeying it, he was surely going to put his neck on the line._

" _Don't you want to go back to your village?" Deidara asked._

" _You are going to get yourself into—"_

" _I know what I'm getting myself into yeah." Deidara snapped, feeling very short tempered at the moment. Unknown to the Hyuga, Uchiha Itachi got his back in this traitorous act. He and Itachi never see things eye to eye… but for the first time, they agreed on one thing._

 _Let the Hyuga out of this._

 _Deidara has his own personal reasons, while Itachi seems to have his own plans. He guessed that Itachi –even though he left his village— was still a little soft when it comes to Konohans._

 _Hinata bit her lip as she stared at the man perched on top of his giant clay bird. Her heart was beating very fast and she was very, very relieved. sShe was finally going back after being held captive for so long._

" _But don't forget. Do not mention to anyone that I did this. It is going to spread and Leader is going to kill me."_

" _Y-yes."_

" _So what are you waiting for yeah?" Deidara snapped at her again. "Go."_

" _T-thank you Deidara…"_

" _Hn."_

 _Hinata turned to leave, but after taking a few steps from where Deidara was, she halted. For a moment, she wondered why he hasn't left yet. If he was really going to let her leave… he should just drop her and go. When she lolled her head back, she saw him smirk._

" _What?"_

" _Thank you very much."_

" _Just go already. Jeez."_

" _Even if you tried to cover it up… you still have some kindness left in you Deidara." Hinata gave him one last look and started running as fast as her legs could carry her. The sooner she was out the view, the sooner Deidara can leave Konoha's boundaries._

 _Deidara watched as the girl disappeared from his sight. When he was sure that she was far enough, he willed his giant clay bird to fly away from the place. All the time, a painful smile was on his lips._

 _As Hinata weaved in and out of the bushes, Hinata wanted to scream for mixed emotions were bubbling inside her. She wanted to let it all out badly._

" _I'm finally free…" She murmured to herself. "But why am I… in pain?"_

 _As she neared Konoha's giant gates, she saw a few Shinobi leaped from the watch tower. She was sure that they have spotted her and were going to come and get her._

 _Soon, she was going to be surrounded by familiar faces again._

 _At that moment, she started crying._

 _-o-_

 _One late evening a few months after she returned to Konoha, Hinata found a small clay bird on her window. It was pecking the wooden railing as if it was searching for food. When she spotted it, her heart leaped and she stood frozen beside her bed a few minutes before she finally let the clay thing in._

 _She kept it with her ever since._ (f)

Hinata pushed the Akatsuki away from her, cutting the connection of their lips. "Stop…Deidara."

Deidara obeyed Hinata's request, but he didn't remove his face too far from hers. He stared at her, temporary putting down his own emotional shield. "You shouldn't have showed your face to me. You know better."

Hinata bit her lip. "I know…" The words were just a whisper.

"Because you are bringing up something that I know both of us doesn't want to remember or feel again yeah."

"I know."

"Our life is not a fairytale Hinata. Outside this cave, we are enemies." Deidara touched her cheek where fresh tears started to make trails down her skin. "We will always be." Hinata nodded and would've looked down if he didn't force her chin up.

They looked into each other eyes. Both were calculating, trying to decipher what was inside each other's mind in order to see any clue…any warning as to where this conversation was going.

Both figured it at the same time.

From that point onwards, no words were spoken. Instead, they let their actions spoke for them as their eyes let the emotions inside known.

Deidara edged closer to the Hyuga as his right hand pressed her down on the ground again. His head followed and he kissed her lips with longing. As he ravaged her lips, Deidara tried to be very, very patient. His efforts were rewarded when Hinata opened her lips slightly to let him in.

Finally managing to adjust his body on top of hers, he broke the kiss and looked at her face again.

She looked back…nervous, but trying her best to act brave.

Hinata's brain was screaming at her that what she was about to do was very, very wrong. It was against all the values and laws that she was taught since she was a child. Her heart though, was screaming the opposite, demanding that she gave in and for once—even if there was nothing to expect from this encounter—to let her emotions take over.

But when his lips brushed her neck, she knew her mind just lost the inner battle.

And so the night of pleasure and pain… love and defeat began.

-o-

Morning came and Hinata woke beside Deidara. She was resting her face on his naked chest while his chin was above her head. She could feel his raspy breath and she closed her eyes again. She knew this façade was going to end today. What happened last night was surely a sign of it.

"Beautiful." She heard him murmur on her ear.

"A little longer." She murmured back, throwing rational thinking along with her emotions out of the window. At the time being, she just wanted to make a world of her own where no one was existing except her and the crazy artist beside her. "Please."

"Okay."

Hinata sighed before drifting back to sleep.

When Hinata woke up again, she was alone inside the cave. There was no sign of Deidara except for the used bandages that littered the cave floor and a few discarded clothing—she recognized it to be those clothes that she made him borrow.

Hinata smiled as she shook her head. It was a painful smile—a mirror of what she was feeling inside.

Later that afternoon as she left the cave that has been her and Deidara's shelter for days, Hinata looked upwards and saw that the sky was very clear. The sun was shining brightly but it was not too strong. It was a perfect day for traveling.

She smiled again, compared to the first; it was a lot more carefree… it was refreshed.

It was goodbye.

-o-o-o-*-o-o-o-*-o-o-o-*

 _ **Timeskip…**_

Sixty-five year old Shino Aburame gave his wife's tombstone one last look before he started walking away. He still has a meeting to attend and it was very important. His eldest son was now taking over the Aburame clan but as an old patriarch, he was still inclined to join the meeting of the elders.

Shino sighed. Hinata was gone for two years now but she was still in his mind always. He had accepted the fact that she was the first one to go but in events like the council meeting, he was always reminded of her. When she was still alive, she would always be there to help him dress in his formal clothes—which until now, he was never really good at.

She would always smile at him when he buttoned his Yukata the wrong way.

Hinata was his teammate… his best friend… she was his wife and they had a wonderful marriage for more than four decades. They have wonderful children and even though they had faced a few downs, they were a strong team.

She was a wonderful woman.

Shino continued walking, his old legs still strong even though pained with rheumatism.

But something made him stop.

The Aburame turned again—following his instinct. It was just in time for him to see another old man, slightly older than him if his calculation was right, and he was standing in front of Hinata's grave. His hair was long and pure white. He was wearing a brown old coat which covered most of his body.

Shino can't see the face of his wife's mysterious visitor clearly because half of it was covered with long bangs. Shino frowned. He had never seen that man before… not even once. He was old enough to be familiar with almost everyone in the village so he can't be mistaken.

Shino decided to just observe the scene—for there was nothing wrong for someone to visit his wife's grave, he was actually grateful for that—so he watched as the long haired man placed something on top of Hinata's tombstone. After a few minutes, he left, as silent as he appeared.

Out of curiosity, Shino returned to Hinata's grave after he was sure that the mysterious visitor had really left. What he saw made him frown. For him, it was…strange.

On top of Hinata's tombstone were flowers… and they were made of clay.

-end-

 _-crazychan_


End file.
